The Usual Disclaimer: I do not own Trigun, Meryl, Milly, Wolfwood, Rem, Knives, or Vash, as much as I wish I owned one particular character. . . .Oh, well. I can dream, can't I?
Glory
Chapter Two: Chance Meeting?
Vash hummed lightly as he made his way to the outdoor restaurant. Well, it had an inside too, obviously. But it had five tables put outside periodically, and an overhanging roof shaded the area. Today felt very good, in his opinion. He learned a lot about himself, Knives, and even Meryl after their battle in the sand. Sure, he'd left his coat, gun, and cross-punisher behind, but he had no need for them anymore. So instead, today, he wore a nice white button-up shirt with long sleeves and semi-loose blue jeans. He wanted to wear his usual boots with them as well, but those wouldn't look right. So, he opted for the pair he had while he was living with Lina and her Grandmother. Apparently, this outfit was much better for attracting kind smiles than his coat. Everywhere he went, someone was smiling at him.
"You attract smiles," Meryl's voice said in his head. This morning, when she'd woken up, the first thing she did was hop up to make breakfast - while he was still dead asleep. And then she'd greeted him with a very nice smile, as did Milly. And that's when she said it. "You attract smiles." Possibly the simplest, yet most detailed sentence he'd ever heard her say.
He pulled out a chair and sat down, linking his hands behind his head and tiled his head back, waiting patiently for someone to notice him and come up to take his order. So what if it was lunch time? He had a hankering for donuts.
Sighing as he finished the song, the light of the sun went out for a split second as another person walked by him. He opened his eyes and smiled at him - or, he guessed by the height that it was a "him" - and couldn't help the slight shock he felt.
It was a woman, there was no doubt about that. She walked right past him and sat down after swinging a chair from its place under a table and sat down, dropping a huge boomerang on her left side. It leaned heavily against the table. She returned his smile and then dropped her crossed ankles on the table, tilting her chair back slightly.
She was wearing a very tight black tank top that showed off all of her toned stomach - a full six-pack. Not something you see everyday on women. She also wore tight jeans, black, with sort of green-blue linings. The stitching down the sides, the flap for the zipper, the belt loops and the waistband were all colored in that shade. And the lining for her pockets. Her boots were bright red, though, reminding him of the shade of his coat. There weren't halfway up her calves, and had five bands of metal around them from the top to her ankles. And two striped of metal went straight down the sides and branched off on both sides in a "Y" - one for across her feet, one for under, and the third for the bands. Even though they were red, her slight platforms on the bottom were as black as her clothing. She had, as well, two black wrist-high gloves with a hole cut on the outside of her hand. The wrist bands of the gloves were red, too. She also had this strip of cloth tied high around her upper arm, the same color as the lining on her jeans. There was a chain around her waist with rather huge links. It connected over her left hip and hung down four links.
Her hair was unruly and wavy, held high on her head in a ponytail but still reaching her waist. It was the exact same golden color as his hair, now that he thought about it. Her lips seemed to be the same red as her boots and gloves, and thicker than most of the lips you see these days. And her eyes - though considerably more narrowed than his own - seemed to be the same green shade as his own.
Those eyes held a very strong light as her eyes met his. After a moment of just staring, recognition sparked in his mind. He knew this woman, but from where, and when? Her smile grew slightly and then she winked, and looked away.
Vash opened his mouth to say something, but just then a waitress decided to show up. She asked him what he wanted, and for a moment he couldn't remember. Who is that woman? I know I know her, he thought as he ordered a plate of donuts. The waitress cocked an eyebrow at him before shrugging and writing it down. The moment she moved out of the way, he continued his conclusion on this new woman. Why does she look so damn familiar?!
Now her head was tilted back, relaxing. Her arms crossed over her chest, and she was looking up at the roof, eyeing the cracks between the boards and the bent nails used to keep it together. Her fingers lightly drummed against her arms - which, he noticed, was finely toned. But when you had a weapon like that, he supposed you'd have to have strong arms. That thing looked heavy.
Her foot slowly jerked back and forth as she closed her eyes, along with some rhythm only she could hear. He watched her foot, trying to guess at her song. Left, right-left, right, left-right. . . Bum. . .bum-bum. . .Bum. . .bum-bum. . . She was mouthing the same beat, he noticed. And then, he heard her voice, quiet but clear as she sang a somewhat gloomy but heartfelt song.
"Last fire will rise, behind those eyes, black house will rock, blind boys don't lie," she sang softly, drawing out the last word a few seconds longer than the others. She went on.
"Immortal fear, that voice so clear, through broken walls, that scream I hear," she murmured, again drawing out the last word.
"Cry, little sister," she said, only to have her voice drop a few notches and become like a child's. "Thou shalt not fall," her voice raised again, "Come, come to your brother," and again it dropped, "Thou shalt not die," it raised again, "Unchain me sister," dropped, "Thou shalt not fear," up again, "Love is with your brother," and it dropped one final time, "Thou shalt not kill." Just like the previous times, she drew out the last word.
Something sparked in her that made her open her eyes, an almost longing look in their hidden depths. There was much more emotion in her eyes than he'd ever seen before. Even as he took all this in, she was going on.
"Blue masquerade, strangers look on, when will they learn, this loneliness? Temptation heat, beats like a drum, deep in your veins. I will not lie, little sister.
"Thou shat not fall.
"Come, come to your brother.
"Thou shalt not die.
"Unchain me sister.
"Thou shalt not fear.
"Love is with your brother.
"Thou shalt not kill." Her eyes closed briefly before she went on.
"My Shangri-la, I can't forget, why you were mine, I need you now. . ." She drew out that last word as her voice raised in volume, going on for about twenty seconds. He couldn't shake the feeling that this was some kind of code she was using to tell him something.
She repeated the chorus three more times as her voice faded out, supposedly the song ending. After a moment's thought, Vash decided on not waiting for his donuts and talking to the woman. He stood up slowly, catching the slight tears that shone in her eyes as she opened them once more and blinked. He walked right up to her and took the unused chair on her right side. "Miss?" he began, hoping to start this off right.
She blinked again and dropped her head slightly, looking over at him. "Yes?"
"Have we met somewhere before?"
She laughed. "I doubt it." She eyed his hair a moment. "I think I'd remember that hair style." After a second she added, "And those eyes."
"You don't have to look far to find them," he pointed out. "Just as far as a mirror."
"True," she half laughed.
"Might I have the pleasure of your name, Miss. . ?"
"Call me Glory. And you, young man?" she asked. This time Vash felt as though she knew a lot about him and was, in fact, teasing him.
"Vash," he replied, having this undeniable feeling that she already knew that.
But nonetheless, she extended her hand in a formal greeting. "Hello, Vash," she said. He reached out and grasped her hand with his own. "Nice to meet you on this beautiful day."
He couldn't help his smile back. "Indeed. Nice to meet you as well, Glory."
She smiled warmly at him before taking back her hand and nodding in the path of his table. "You've got the girl with the donuts over there. I suggest you not keep her waiting."
He nodded once and got up, expecting to see the waitress looking confused, but seeing a plate of donuts and an unhappy-looking Meryl in his previous seat. He grinned sheepishly at her and tried not to look scared as he took another seat. This wasn't going to end pretty.
~*~ Glory ~*~
When I saw that woman sit down - Meryl - I knew he was in trouble. At least I could warn him first. I drew back my hand and nodded at his table, my smile ever in place. "You've got the girl with the donuts over there. I suggest you not keep her waiting," I said to him. I watched with a pang of sisterly protectiveness as Meryl gave both of us a glare in turn. But still, Vash stood up and - wearing a big, innocent grin - went over to his woman and sat down, and then the both of them were talking fast. But nowhere near fast enough for me not to hear.
"Please, Meryl, before you overreact - "
"Overreact?! I'll give you overreact! Who is that woman?! Why were you touching her?!"
"I just met her!"
"And after last night, you're already going after the nearest skirt?!" She got up at that point.
Feeling a need to intervene, I stood up as well. My height - just as my brother's - easily dwarfed the woman, but she seemed not to notice. She walked right up to me and kept with her tirade.
"And you! Who do you think you are, going after any man off of the street?! Huh?! Well?! Aren't you going to answer me?!" She went on and on, and I waited patiently for her to finish. After a few minutes, a lot of gesturing, and some pleas from Vash for her to calm down, she crossed her arms and huffed. She glared up at me before shouting one last word, "Well?!"
"I'm afraid that your jealousy is misplaced," I began, hoping that this woman in particular would warm up to anyone who could strike an intelligent conversation. So far, it's worked. She looked up at me strangely, her arms falling to her sides. I went on carefully. "I have no desire to be with your man. Just the need to socialize to a certain degree."
Meryl tilted her head at me a moment before nodding and sighing. From behind her, still sitting, Vash looked up at me in a kind of muted wonder. I knew - and have known - that this woman's rage could not be put out so easily, so this must be quite a feat. Definitely not something that happens every day.
I nodded at her and stretched out my hand with the friendliest smile I had. "You're Meryl, right?" I asked.
She looked shocked at me for a second and then pressed her fists firmly into her hips. "How do you know my name?!" she demanded.
"Vash said it," I said, gesturing at the man.
He smiled at us - almost like the kid who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
Meryl raised a brow at me for a moment before taking my hand. "And your name, Miss?"
"Glory," I said back. "Nice to meet you. And by the way, you might want to curb your anger. You sound like an idiot when you fire away without knowing the whole story." I let her hand go as she stood, stunned at my words, and sat back down, replacing my legs on the table. After a moment Meryl shook her head and sat back down, taking a few donuts from the plate that Vash had already attacked.
I smiled at them. It was about time they got together. I felt their passion for one another, and it was obvious to anyone who watched them closely. Now I could feel that same passion, bloomed into full-blown love. One so strong I wouldn't be surprised if they both threatened me with death if I ever tried to get between them.
The waitress chose that moment to come up to me and ask me what I wanted. After a moment of thought, I glanced over at Vash's table. Damn, but donuts looked good right now. Smiling brightly at the woman, I asked her how much that would cost.
"Fifteen double dollars," she said, writing it down. She knew, then, that I wanted donuts as well.
I stopped her before she could walk away. "Maybe you should bring me two." I nodded in the direction of Vash's table. "The second one for them." The waitress glanced at the table, shocked to see that over half of the donuts were already gone. And then she smiled at me, apparently very happy to see that there was still kindness on this planet.
She obviously didn't know that the worst was already over, now that Knives was bedridden.
As she went away, I heard my voice called. I looked up to see an old man, over eighty at least, walk up to me leaning on a cane. I recognized those eyes.
"Glory! Is that really you? Are you back?"
I stood up as he came near, seeing his once six-foot-three height hunched over. "Garth?" I laughed. "Who'd have thought you'd last this long? You must be nearly ninety!"
He laughed back at me and climbed the three stout steps. "I haven't seen you in years, but you look exactly the same!"
"That happens when you take extra good care of yourself, Garth. Above everyone else, you should know that." I raised a brow at him. "And how did you recognize me? I changed just about everything about my appearance since I was last here." I saw that Meryl and Vash were half-listening out of the corner of my eye.
Garth laughed at me. "Simple. You're the only woman I know who could pull off such a kind face on such an intimidating body. Or," he added, looking thoughtful. "Maybe it's the other way around."
I laughed at him. "Well, it was good to see you again, Garth."
He smiled at me. "I'm just glad you didn't get another growth spurt. Even as tall as I once was, it still hurt to look up at you."
My eyes sparkled as I looked down at him. "Well, I think it's safe to say I never asked to be almost seven foot."
"True," he laughed back at me. He waved as he turned around and went back on his journey. "Don't be a stranger."
"Don't get yourself into trouble," I pointed out. He was a real trouble-maker twenty years back, even at almost seventy. Always playing tricks and making up jokes.
He laughed as he disappeared form my sight. I felt myself soften, inside and out, as I thought about how I thought I'd never see him again. We became really good friends twenty years back, when I should have been just a little kid. But no, I was over a century when I met him. No doubt that Vash would catch this and wonder about everything we said. ". . .you look exactly the same." Luckily he didn't know how long ago "years" was.
The waitress returned and gave her the first plate of donuts and the second to Vash and Meryl, who looked a little shocked. Meryl got up as Vash began stuffing his face again. She walked over to me and reached out her hand. "It was very nice meeting you, Miss Glory," she said. I smiled at her as I shook her hand.
"Just call me Glory, alright?" I asked. Meryl nodded and withdrew.
"What a chance meeting," I heard her say as she walked off. "Chance" indeed. I acted like I didn't hear her, starting on my own donuts - though considerably with more manners than my elder brother.
It was going perfectly. Now that we've met, I can meet them on other "chances" and slowly let them know little bits about me. Ultimately, would tell Vash about our relationship, but until then, I would take things much slower than that. Hopefully it will take less than a year for us to become comfortable enough around each other that I could tell him. Maybe I could make it easier by showing off a little. . .But just a little, I told myself. No need to shock him to high heaven.
~*~
Second chapter - check. Good description - check. Scanned Glory pictures - check. Reviews - well, that's up to you.
More directly, I'm trying to say that I have a few pictures of Glory drawn out, in case any of you need some reference. Just ask in a review or e-mail me and I will send it to you.
~DL~
